Gearing.



9 SHEET$-SHEET 1.

Patented July 25, 1916.

GEARING.

1. A. ESPITALUERQ APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, I91 I.

1.,m2,&

J. A. ESPITALUER.

I (BEARING. APPLICATION FILED SEPT-14, 191 I.

J. A. E'SPITALLIER.

GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1911.

Patented July 25, 1916.

'9 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

751%? 63363:: j? Jenfor:

J. A. ESPITALLIER.

GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14. 1911.

Patented July 25,

Lmwos.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

jYMEYT/(n J. A. ESPiTALLIER.

(BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-14,1911.

Patented J lily 25, 1916.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

wwaa J. A. ESPITALLIER,

GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-14,2911.

- Patented Ju1y25,1916.

9 $HEETSSHEET 6 J. A. ESPITALLIER.

G EARING.

APPLICATIONVFILED SEPT. 14, 1911.

Patented July 25, 1916.

9 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

[Z y inflenior:

J. A. ESPITALLIER= GEARING.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I4, 191 1.

Q h .W ,m \Jh 0 it w 1L 2 a r U MW a #8 I l mu 9w m cremains.

To all'wltom it racy concern Be it known that I, Join: ANDREW asti- TALLIER, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Chicago, {countyof Cook, State of Illinois, have. invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gearing, and declare the following to be a full, clear,'and exact description of the same, "such as will. enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains-to make and use the same, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention-has for its Object to produce an easily-controlled,light,efficient, smoothly running andfdurable automobile.

My object is attained bya peculiar construction organization of the various m'echanisms,l;:l.groups of mechanisms and parts which "go to make up an automobile and therefore viewed in various aspects my invention may be regarded: first, as comprising a novel frame structure which dispenses with the usual axles for supporting tor and the drivin the wheels; second, as comprising a simple, novel and cheap cushioning means for the body of an automobile; third, as comprising; a novel driving mechanism between the mowheels; and,-fourth, as comprising a nove automatic speed changing and "controlling mechanism which 'pro-. duces smooth and gradual changes in the speed of an automobile relative to the speed of the engine to suit the load conditions on the engine, and also the power which is be ing developed by. the engine.

My invention, viewed 'n other aspects, contemplates various novel structural arrangements which will hereinafter appear from the detailed description of my invention. i

. In the drawings, in which I have illus trated a single preferred embodiment of the variouslfeatures of my inventiohzIFigrire 1 is a plan view of a complete automobile with the parts above thef'chassis. omitted; Fig; 2

is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the", front portion of the chassis; Fig. 3 is asection on' line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4" is a section approximately on line 4'4j of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a section approximately on line'5 .5 of Fig. 2; Fig'. 6 i a horizontal section on an enlarged scale through the supporting arm for one of the rear wheels at the point where this arm is connectedto the frame; Fig. 7 is Specification of'Letters ram. Application fil ed se temb'i i4, 1911. Serial a... 649,386.

Patented July 1916.

a'section approximately online 7 of Fig. 6, the-shaft members and the bearing members for the shafts being omitted Figs. 8 .7

and 9 are respectively side elevations, lookmg outwardly, of the two members of the spring box and swivel shown in Fig. 6; Fig.

10 is a side elevation of the supportingmemrj here for one of the rear wheels immediately adjacent to the wheel; Fig. 11 is a section on line 11-11 of FigqlO; Fig. 12 is a sec-- t1on approxnnately on line 12-12 of Fig;

11; Fig. 13 is a horizontal central'section, on an enlarged scale, through the automatic speed governor; Fig. 14 is a section approximately on line l411 of Fig. 13; and Figs.-

15 and 16 are detail views of a shifting member for the clutch the automatic governor.

The first feature of my invention which I shall describe is that which relates to thev separately upon one endof an arm which is yieldingly connected at its other end to the frame so as to permit. relative cushioned movements between the arms and the frame a about horizontal axes. The supporting arms for the rear wheels are indicated at 4, 4: and 1 those for the front wheels at 5, 5. The two rear arms are alike and so also are the two front arms. I propose to use the rear arms which. will permit the wheels to rotate and at the'same time be shifted about vertical axes for steering purposes. The rear arms 1 the frame is 'shown in detail in Figs. 6 to 9 and,- referring to these figures, it-will be I i seen that on each side of the frame near the'.

rear thereof is fastened a saucer-shaped member? the mouth of the saucer being next-to the frame.

The adjacent end of each of the arms is provided with a similar 7 saucer-shaped portion 8 which isadapted to overlie and fit upon the member 7 The members 7 and 8 are connected together in such a way that they are held against relative movements .except rotary movements about a horizontal transverse axis. In the "arrangement shown this connectionis made by means of a bolt 9 which passes through the members 7 and 8 at their common axis. The rim portions of the two saucer-like members 7 and 8 are so shaped as to form he tween them an annular passage or chamber 10 which is preferably circular in cross sec-. tion and, projecting into this chamber from I each of'the rimportions are radialjearsforjpartitions ll and 12, respectively? In the arrangement shown there are six of thee ribs or partitions and they 'are'spaced e'qua distances apart so that when the twoTm'ern bers 7 and 8 are placed upon feachfoth er each of the ribs on one member lies, be-' tween two of the ribs on the other member.

Within the chamber 101" place .a series of springs 13, each springengaging with one. of the partitions on. the member 7 and with'-.

one ofthe partitions on, the member 8. The

springs are. preferably 'placed"'under1 initialtensionso that they tendto'swing'the' members] and .8 relative to eachotheras far asthey will go, thus bringing" adjacentpartitions into engagementwith each other.

The parts are'so arranged that when a load is placed upon the wheelsthe arms tend to turn in. the direction to compress the springs. The greater the load, the greater the compression of the springs, and therefore as the automobile runs along the frame is yieldingly. supported and therefore rides smoothly. The manner of supporting vthe front arms is the same as that j ust described for the rear arms. The driving shafts 6 are divided at a point within the saucer-like member 7 and a suitable universal joint 13,

having its center at the pivotal aXisof each of the arms 4 connectsthe two members of each of the driving shafts together.

Power from the driving shafts'may be transmitted to the rear wheels in any suit able manner. In the arrangement shown each of the rear wheels is revolubly mounted upon a stub shaft 14 extending outwardly from the outer-end of the corresponding supporting arms. On the inside of each wheel.

a wheel.

wheels through the bevel gearing; i "3"} connection. 7

;I shall now describe the means for operat ing the driving shafts. Supported upon the front end of the frame .is a suitable engine;

or. motor. 21 having its crank shaft 22 (see Figs. 1 and 5) extending transversely of the automobile. Arranged on the frame directly in' rear of the engine or motor is a comversal joints inythe driving sh ft erm i the frame to'rise and fallupon the wh el -q without interfering with'the properdr i i n bined differential and speed changingmech "janism. v This mechanism is constructed as follows Supported in a suitable frame- WOrk," 23 carried 'by .thefmain. frame of hea'utomobile'isa spoked wheel 24 mounted ,soi as to; revolve. about a horizontal y aXle or shaft 24*. Q'lhe rim of this wheel has gear teeth 25.5.:so ,1. that the wheel is in'fact a large-gear; wli'e or motor shaft, carries'l a 'fdriving gear wheel or pinionfl26 ,in the-form of a flywheel (see Fig.- 2) whichmeshes with the teeth on,the wheel 24 and revolves this On 'each of the spokes 27 of the wheel 24 is revolubly mounted a bevel pinlatter wheel. Consequently when the wheel 1 24 revolves, the members 29 also revolve. It-

will be seen that the wheels 29 need not revolve at the same speed since only the average speed of the two wheels, relative to-the speed of the wheel 24 is a fixed factor, and

therefore one of the wheels 29 may lag be- I hind the other.- This arrangement produces the differential action which permits the two driving shafts and therefore the two rear wheels to run at different speeds. The outer faces of the wheels 29 'are finished so as to present friction faces which will enable these wheels to serve as the driving members of a friction drive.

As will best be seen from Figs. 1 was, two friction disks 31 are mounted on oppo:

site sides of thedifferential gearing so as to be revoluble about longitudinal axes, each of the'disks being adapted to engage with one of the friction wheels so as to be driven thereby; and, as WiILhereinafter appear, the friction disks positively actuate the driving shafts 6 and thus transmit the power of the engine to the driving. wheels. The friction disks are slidably mounted on shafts 32 which are connected at their rear ends to the corresponding driving shafts -6 by means of universal joints 33. In order-to unclutch the driving shafts from and clutch them to the engine I prefer to provide means formoving the friction-disks out of and into engagement with the friction wheels, this being conveniently accomplished by mounting the supporting shafts for the disks in such a manner that" the shafts maybe swung from and toward the friction wheels. In the arrangement shown, .(see 1F ig. 6) "the rearbearings 34 for the shafts-32 are sup-'.

ported in yokes 35 which are in turn secured to the frame member 23 by means of brackets 36 or other suitable means; the

bearingsx34 being held between pivots or centers 37 and 38 arranged respectively f above and below the bearings so as to permit the" bearings as a whole to swing about vertical axes. The front ends of the shaft 32 are mounted in such a manner that they" maybe swung laterally about the vertical pivotal axes at the rear ends,-this swinging movement of the shafts being sufficient to' bearings for the front ends of the shafts 32 are in the upper ends' of the. rockers 39 which are pivotally supported at intermedi-.

ate points uponithe frame of the machine as indicated at 40. Between the lower ends of the rockers is a" disk or crank member 41 mounted upon the frame of the machine so as to, be rotatable about a longitudinalhxis.

Links42 and 43 extend from this diskto' the lower ends of the members-.39, each being pivotally connected'at one end to. the disk and at the otherend to the corresponding' rocker. It will be seen that by turning this disk the rockers will be swung about their axesand the shafts 32 will be swung awayfrom "or toward the friction'wheels,

depending upon the direction in which the disk is moved.

- 'will hereinafter appear, serve to clutch" and un clutcli the drivingshafts from the engine,

reverse the direction of movement of the automobile and applythe brakes, the entire control being through these two levers, The

levers are intended to have an .up and down moveme nt; which may either. be rectilinear or-in the arc of a, circle depending upon the shape which is given to the= levers. Pivotally connected ,to the lower end-of the leveri 44 is a thrust rod 46 which extends over into proximity to the disk 41 and is there provided with "a fork- 47 which straddles a" pin 48 near the periphery of the disk -It will be seenfthat when the vlever 44 is d'epre'ssed it will cause the-forked end of thet'hrust rod to move, laterally and therefore will turn the disk througha'predetermined" angle, swinging-the shafts 32' outwardly and bringing the 'frictio ndisks I clear of the drivingwheels, When pressure upon the lever asremoved the parts return to their normal positions with the' friction disks in operative engagement with the driving-members. This lever maybe connected .to the brakes in a n'yusualway '(not shown) so that when itis'deprlessedit first unclutches the driving wheels from the engine and then applies the brakes. The lever 45 is provided with a thrust rod 49' similar to the-thrust rod 46 and pivotally connected at its ends-to the member 45 and to the disk.

The lever 45 is placed. more directly over the disk than isthe lever 44 andtherefore the thrust rod 49 is lmore nearly; vertical than the thrust rod 46 and a greater turningmovement of the diskresults from. a: de-.

pression of the lever 45 than from a depression of the lever 44. The lever 45 is for the purpose of reversing the direction of travel as will hereinafter appear.-

The methods now in vogue of controlli'n the speed of automobiles all have the -dis advantage that it is left' entirely to. the

operator as to when and how the speed shall be changed. .This permits the operator to increase the speed at times when this should not be done and when I an injury to the.

mechanism or at least annoyance to the occupants may'result from a changejof conditions at the time permit, and jthere-' after control the speed of-the driving shaft relative 'i30 the engine .in accordance with the load on the engine and thepower which is being developed by the engine.- ,I are p N compli'sh this by providing automatic actu- In-the' arrangement'shown I have pro vided two foot levers 44 and 45 which; as

ating means for-sliding the friction'disks back and forth toward and away from the axis of rotation of the friction wheels, To

arms connected to the. .two, friction disks in any suitable manner as. indicated at 51 .so as to permit the disks to rotate about their axes but prevent relative movements between the members 50 and the disks in the direction of the axes ofthe disks: The rear end or yoke portion-' 52 of the Ushap ed member is provided "with a screw-threaded opening therethrough for receiving a screwthreaded shaft 53: When the shaft 53 is rotated in. one direction or the .other it moves the U-shaped member and with it the two fr ctlon disks so as, to carry them toward or away" from the center of the driving wheels, depending upon thedirection of rotation of the screw The screw is controlled by .sev

eral' different devices, the prihcipal one of which is an automatic governor.' 'Ref erring to Figs. 2, 13 and 14 of the drawings, it will be seen that justin rear of the differential'mechanisln is'-mounted a casing .54 into the rear end of which projects a squared shaft" 55. The shaft 55 is telescoped within the shaft 53 so that the two must rotate together but have freedom of relative axial movements. At a point with in thecasing 54 is a two-faced clutch mem' ber 56 rigidly connected to the inner end Q of the shaft 55. In front of the member .driving clutch-member 58.

side of the casing 54. projects a shaft 61 i 59 and 60. The. bevel gears 59 and 60- lie which carries on its inner end a bevel pinion 62 meshing with both of the bevel gears on opposite sides of the pinion and therefore when the pinion revolves these gears are driven in opposite directions- The shaft 61 is driven in any suitablezway directly;

from the engine or motor." In the arrange: ment shown there is-a sprocket chain, 63

which passes over sprocket 'wli'eelsg6t' and the axial direction, tlns connection being 111- dicated at 7 0. The other end of the stem ex- 65 placed respectively on the engineshaft and on the shaft 61. Consequently whenever the engine is running the'two clutch members 57 and 58 are being driven. If

then the movable .clutch member 56 is brought into engagement with the clutch member 57,.the screw 53' is revolvedin one direction, namely the direction to carry the yoke 50 toward the rearof the machine and the friction disks away, from the center of the driving wheels. 7 If, on the other hand, the clutch member 56 is brought into engagement with the clutch member 58, the

screw 53 will. be turned in the opposite direction and the disks will be moved toward the center of the drivingwheels. By this means the speed at which the automobile is.

Y driven may either be increased or decreased.

In starting an automobile .it is of course customary to start on the lowest speed and then increase the speed through various gear changes. In all arrangements where the speed changing mechanism consists of a series of gears, there can be no gradual increase or decrease in thespeed, but changes must be effected by means of two or three j abrupt steps. Where the control of the speed governing mechanism is entirely man;

ual it may happen that the speed is increased too rapidly to suit the particular conditions existing at the time of starting or it may happen that time is lost because the speed is not increased rapidly enough. To overcome these objections I make the speed control automatic by providing a suitable governor for shifting the clutch member 56 into engagementwith the member 57 after the engine has reached apredetermined speed.

Consequently, starting at the lowest speed, no increase is made unless and until there is sufiicient power in the engine. to bring it up to a predetermined speedunder the load which it 'is carrying. Furthermore,

if the loadfbecomes too great for the engine at any time before the maximum speed is reached, the governor will act to arrest the progress of the speed changing mechanism until the engine again picks up speed.

The details of the governing mechanism The balls rest upon a flat disk-like table 68 i which is fixed to a stem 69. One end of the 'stem is connected tothe clutch member 56 in sucha way that the two may rotate relaftive to each other about their common axis but are held against relative movements in tends out through the front of the casing {and is surrounded by a spring 70 which 'restsat one end upon a shoulder 71 in the casing and at the other end against a hub 72 on the table 68. The'parts are so proportioned that. normally the spring holds the clutch member 56 in engagement with the clutchmember 58. Consequently when- .ever' the engine is running below a predetermined speed the govermng mechanism acts .or tends to act to carry the friction disks toward the center of the driving wheels. However, when the engine attains a "certain speed the balls 67 move'outwar'dly along the inclined passages ,and' force the table 68 forward until the clutch member 56 is carried out of engagement with the member 58. Then as the speed of the en-.

gine increases the balls fly out to the limit of their movement and the member 56 is clutched to the member 57. The screw 53 now begins to turn in the direction to carry the friction disks away from the center of the coiiperating clutch members so that thespeed of the automobile relative to that of the engine remains unvaried. If the speed of the engine drops still morethegovernor.

balls pass to the inward limits of their movement and the clutch member 56 is brought into operative relation to the member 58 and the friction disks will begin to travel toward the center of the driving wheels. This will-keep up until the engine is, able to carry the load and then the speedcontrolling clutch will first be brought into aneutral position and then, if conditions warrant, into a position to gradually increase the speed ofthe'auto'mobile. It will thus be seen that the control of the speed is not only automatic but it is sensitive to every change in theload condition and speed condition of the :motor and therefore, by properly adjusting the parts'initially to suit a given automobile, the most efhcient results astto speed both in starting and dur-' ing the running operation will be obtained automatically and without any, attention or care on the part of the driver. I

Since the speed controlling screw is ac tuated automatically some means must .be provided forpreventing' the friction disks from being moved too. far in. either direction. have therefore provided an auto-.

matic; limit device which arrests the feed of the friction disks before they have gone too far in'eitherdirection. In the arrangement shown I have accomplished this in the following nanner. Referring particularly to Figs. 2, 5, 13' and 15 and 16; it will be seen that running parallel with the governing screw andadjacent thereto is a rod 73 suitably mounted in bearings soas to be rotatable about its'axis. This rod is provided with two cam stop pieces 74 and 75 secured thereto and preferably adjustablethereon. On theactuating yoke for the fr1ct1o'r1-d1sksg,

is a lug or finger '76'whi'ch lies between'the cams 74 and 75 and in line therewith. When the yoke moves forward it engages with the cam 7 5 and therefore turns the rod 73 'in the clockwise direction, as viewedfrom the front. nWhen the yoke near s'the limit of its backward movement itengages w th the cam l' and 'turnsjthe rod in the opposite "direcnon. The front end of the rod is connected with the stein 69, of the governor in any suitable Way so that the rod in itsmovements I controls the clutch: i Thus when the rod is turned in the clockwise direction it draws the stem forward 'andbrings the clutch member 56' into a neutral position and .out

of engagementwith theclutch member 58 so that further feeding of-z'thefriction diskstoward the center of the driving members is prevented. Similarly, whenever the rod 7 6 turns in 'the'other direction it movesathe clutch member 56' away'fromthe. member- 57 andinto a neutral .position so as to stop f 1 the outward feeding of'the friction. disks."

The movement of? the rod is not; enough to cause the clutch connection to be completely reversed, being onlygreat enough to inter rupt the action. of the" clutch. The connection between the rod-73- and the stem 69 is most clearly shown in'Figs. 15 Land 16.- It

'will-be see'n that the-stem 69 -has on itsend a small wheel .78 which is? beveledv in {both directions at its periphery. the rod73 7 arejtwo arms 79 and 80, whose'ends lie far Aenough apart to receive between them the bevel, lying in front of the wheel.

wheel 78, the ends-beingibeveled as indicated at 8land 82 so=asto havethe same angle as the bevels on'thewheel. Furthermiore, the arms are so shaped that one engages one of the bevels, thus lying behind the wheel, and thegother engages the other When the rod 73 is oscillated back and forth this connection between it and the stem permits i tto reciprocate the stem backand forth.

This arrangement does not interfere with the operation of the ball governor because the stem 69 maymove back and forth under the "action of the governo-npro ducing a rotation of the rod, during such movements, by rea" sonof thebeveled faces on the arms and of the automobile. From the description heretofore given it will be evident that when the foot lever 44 is depressed so as to unclutchthe rear wheels of the automobile from the engine, the engine as itfslowsv down 'wlll actuateithe friction disks so as to feed lth'emtoward the center. If it should hap pen that the engine stops before approxiinately the-centeris reached, the arrangeiri-ient which I shall hereinafter'describefor reversing. may necessitate a manual actuation' of the stem 69 so as to complete the feeding of the friction disks towardthe cen- 'ter.; Such a meansfor manually operating the clutch controlling stem is illustrated in F gs. 2, .4, 5 and 1 6 and it consists of a lever .34 which is pivoted to the frame 23 inter-.

mediate the ends of the lever at a point in, front of "the stem so thatthe lower end of the lever moves'in a path which will bring it into engagement with the stem when the lever is oscillated. To the upper end of thelever 84-]is secured a connecting rod 85 which extends to the front of the machine and is therefi'suitably connected to the reversing ,leveror pedal tj'jothat when the latter is actuatedthe lever is oscillated in thedirection" to bring the movable clutch member 56 int0 engagement :with the member ,58; thus causing tha -friction, disks to .trz'tvel to thefcenter if they are not already there. The -c on'necti( nbetween the rod 85 and the foot lever 45 may conveniently be as follows :[Thefront end of; the rod-"85 is connected to a hanger 86 which is pivotally supported on the framework front of the member 45. On' the hanger is a roller '87 which lies in the path of a cam 88 on the front face of thefoot lever. When the lever is depressed the cam engages with the roller passesout' from under the roller and leaves the. connecting-rod free. i If desired a conandfdraws-the connecting rod-forward and v ,.when the lever Iisagain releasedathe cam nection from the hanger 86 may extend into proximity to the foot lever 44: so as to 1nsure that the friction disks will always be disks the desired distance. This I accomplish by securing upon the screw a grooved collar 90 which is embraced by a fork 91 having suitable pins 92 lying in the groove 93 of the collar. The fork is carried upon the rear end of a rod or bar 94 extending longitudinally of the vehicle and-mounted on the frame-work so asto beslidable in the longitudinal direction, The front end-of .the member 94L is connected toone -armof. "a bell-crank lever 95 the other arm of which- 7 lies below thelower end of the.,foot lever Then this foot lever is depressed it first throws the friction disksout of engagement with their coiiperating members and places the governor in a position to feed the friction disks forward, and then, by en-' gaging with the bell-crank lever 95 carries the rod 94: forward and with it the feed screw, the yoke and the friction disks until the friction disks are carried past thecenter far enough to give a slow reverse speed. Upon the release of the reversing lever there is nothing to prevent the disks from .moving back in the direction from'which they came and therefore I have provided the rod 9e 'witha collar 96 which lies .directly beneath the lower end of a forked plunger 97 when the rod 94'is at the for? ward limit of its movement By dropping the plunger down over the collar 96 therod willb'e locked in place until it is desired again to move in the forward direction. If desired, a second collar 98, similar to the collar 96, may be arranged on the-rod at .such a point that it will liedirectly beneath the plunger when the automobile is running in the forward direction,"Consequently, by dropping the plunger down iilpon the collar 98, accidental displacement of the rodwill ,be prevented. The movement of the controlling screw in the longitudinal direction is permitted by reason of the sliding connection between it and the squared shaft and an elongated sliding bearing 99 in the frame-work at the rear end of the screw.

WVhile I have illustrated and described only asingle preferred form of my inven- 'tion, I do .not desire to be limited to the particular structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to-cover all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. .In combination, a motor, a driven member, a speed-changing driving mechanism between said motor and said member, and automatic governing means constructed and ;arranged gradually" to increase the speed of the driven member relative to thatv of the motor when the motor reaches a pretor.

2. In combination, a -motor, a driven member, a speed-changing driving mechanism between said motor and saidmember, means for graduallyshifting said speedchanglng mechanism, and means governed by the speed of the motor for automatically setting the aforesaid means in operation when the motor reaches a predetermined speed. i i

3. In combination, a motor, adriven member, a speed-changing driving mechanism between said motor .andf'said member,

. and -means governed by thesp eed' of the .motor for automatically shifting said mechanism from the lowest speedf toethe highest the predetermined speed.

4.; In combination, a -.motor,] a driven nism between said motor and said member, an actuator for said mechanism, and areversing driving mechanism for said actuator governed by the speed of the motor. H

In testimony whereof, I, sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

, J. A. ESPITALLIER:

Witnes ses: l

WM. F. FREUDENREICH, HARRY S. GAITHER.

-, determined speed and irrespective of any subsequent increase in the speed of the mospeed when the motor reachesjandmaintains member, a speed-changing drivingimecha 

